April 8, 2024

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Today’s Forecast

82º | 10% chance of precipitation
Sunrise 7:09 a.m. | Sunset 7:49 p.m.

LAL_High Tower Roofing_Weather Sponsorship_7.1.2023-6.30.2025

☕️ Espresso with a shot of entrepreneurship

A student employee of Morning Grind hands a coffee cup to a customer across the coffee cart.

You’ll find students behind the coffee bar and in line at Morning Grind. | Photo by Daniel Jones

When we asked for your nominations for our coffee shop bracket last month, we noticed a new name among the recommendations: Morning Grind. What makes this newly opened coffee shop special? It’s run by Florida Southern College students on campus.

The cart isn’t just a part-time job for students. It’s a learning lab where they can get real world experience and support from the Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and its director Justin Heacock.

Students are given 100% independence to run the business’s daily operations, advertise, and manage profits. They sourced local coffee beans + tea, and they make the flavored syrups themselves. You can follow along with their business updates to see how much they’re earning and what they’re learning.

A hand holds a green colored iced coffee in a plastic cup in the foreground. In the background is a blurry shot of students working the Morning Grind coffee cart. — Coffee flavors include vanilla, salted caramel, white mocha, maple, and more.
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Photo by Daniel Jones

We stopped by Morning Grind to grab a cup for ourselves. The menu is pretty simple (think: lattes, cold brew, and americanos) but the team is adding new offerings all the time — and even offers pup cups for dogs. We opted for a seasonal peppermint latte and would definitely be here every morning if we were FSC students.

Thankfully, you don’t have to be a Moc to get a pick-me-up. Morning Grind is open Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. It’s located just outside the Becker Business Building, near the roundabout at the corner of Lake Hollingsworth Drive and Hollingsworth Road. You can even order online to have your order ready when you arrive.

Pro tip: There are a few parking lots near the cart, or you can stop by during a lakeside walk — it’s located halfway around the lake if you park next to the Lakeland Country Club.

Events

Monday, April 8

Total Eclipse of the Park | Monday, April 8 | 1-3 p.m. | Bonnet Springs Park, 400 Bonnet Springs Blvd., Lakeland | $0-$4 | View the total solar eclipse and enjoy themed activities — eclipse glasses will be available for $4.
Monday Swing Workshop | Monday, April 8 | 6-8:30 p.m. | Etoile Dancewear, 121 S. Kentucky Ave., Lakeland | $15 | Experienced swing dancers can perfect their moves in this expert-led class.

Tuesday, April 9

SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo | Tuesday, April 9-Sunday, April 14 | Times vary | SUN ‘n FUN Expo Campus, 4175 Medulla Rd., Lakeland | $0-$170 | Join the 50th annual expo for daily airshows, fireworks, entertainment, education, and plenty of planes.

Wednesday, April 10

Live Trivia + Pinoy Cravings | Wednesday, April 10 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | Swan Brewing, 115 W. Pine St., Lakeland | Free entry | Show what you know to win taproom credit.

Thursday, April 11

Lakeland Food Truck Rally | Thursday, April 11 | 6-9 p.m. | Munn Park, 201 E. Main St., Lakeland | Price of purchase | Try food from 15 different food trucks while enjoying live music from a DJ.

Friday, April 12

Crafternoon | Friday, April 12 | 2:30-3:30 p.m. | Larry R. Jackson Branch Library, 1700 N. Florida Ave., Lakeland | Free | Drop in to the library on a school early dismissal day for kids’ craft activities.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Number

~4,500. That’s how many babies were born last year at Lakeland Regional Health, up 50% from the 3,000 delivered in 2018. CEO Danielle Drummond says it’s a result of Polk County’s population growth + increasing diversity. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

Community

The LDDA has disabled facial recognition technology on its downtown cameras. The 13 cameras will still be used throughout downtown without the technology. (LkldNow)

Arts

The Polk Museum of Art’s expansion is now expected to cost $8 million, up from its original budget of $6 million. The expansion will add 14,000 sqft of gallery + multipurpose space, and large launch exhibits are planned for the opening. (Haven Magazine)

Environment

Today’s total solar eclipse will be more of a partial eclipse for us in Lakeland, but you can still catch part of the phenomenon between 1:45 and 4:15 p.m. PCPS is moving afternoon outdoor activities inside and excusing absences today to minimize risk. (Spectrum News 13)

Development

Developers requested a land use map amendment to allow residential building near West 5th Street. If approved, Providence Townhomes would include 30 workforce-affordable units. A public hearing is set for Tuesday, April 16 at 8:30 a.m. at Lakeland Electric.

History

Get a glimpse inside nine Lake Morton houses during the 2024 Historic Home Tour this Saturday, April 13. Self-guided tours are available 11 a.m.-4 p.m., starting at the Frank Lloyd Wright Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center. Tickets are $20.

Cause

Mix charity with mystery at Central Florida Health Care’s murder mystery fundraising gala on Thursday, May 2 at the Lakeland Country Club. Proceeds will go towards new health centers in Lakeland and Winter Haven. RSVP by Friday, April 19.

Read

Little Bus Books will round out this year’s weeklong Lakeland Book Crawl. Visit its storefront at 1047 E. Main St. on Friday, April 26 for membership deals, local vendors, and a free Lit Mic Night.

Kids

PAINT Nail Bar is throwing a party fit for a princess. Tickets are going fast for Majestic Manicures with Cinderella on Tuesday, April 23 at 6 p.m. Children ages 2+ can get their nails painted and join in on activities led by Cinderella.

Home

Did you know you could finance your fixer-upper with home equity? You could get up to $50K with a HELOC — calculate your payment.*

Eat

It’s all in the family

Three small funnel cakes topped with chocolate, caramel, and powdered sugar sit on a paper plate on top of a wood picnic table.

The funnel cupcakes are the perfect size to order a few in different flavors. | Photo by Funnel Feasts

No one knows the meaning of “family business” better than the Rahmanis, the family behind the Lakeland food truck Feasts of Persia. Farhad and Gianna Rahmani started the business, but their 18-year-old son Dominik is carrying the torch in his own way with Funnel Feasts.

Dominik told us, “I’ve grown up with an entrepreneurial mindset.” When inspiration for a business struck while working at Legoland, he started creating his own funnel cakes out of the family food truck. “Now, I get to serve funnel cakes to those partying at Union Hall, as well as doing events on my own!”

Funnel Feasts offers full-size cakes, smaller “cupcakes,” and funnel fries with customizable toppings. Try them for yourself at Union Hall (1023 S. Florida Ave.) Tuesday-Saturday. Dominik says his favorite is the new Peanut Butter Delight, and we love the strawberry cupcake with chocolate syrup.

The Buy

The lipstick that’s more like a phenomenon: Clinique’s Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. You can now buy Clinique on Amazon, and the black honey lipstick has skyrocketed to the No. 1 new release in beauty and personal care.

Answered

When are you most likely to ride The Squeeze?

A sign on a streetlight post reads "The Squeeze, board here" with a scannable QR code to see the schedule. A tree-covered downtown Lakeland street is in the background.

Look for these signs around downtown Lakeland to find a stop near you. | Photo by LALtoday

We recently shared about The Squeeze, a free shuttle service from Citrus Connection that aims to be “fast, frequent, and fun.” Here’s when our readers say they’re most likely to hop on for a ride:

43% — Saturday evenings
27% — Friday evenings
16% — Weekdays
14% — Saturday mornings

How to ride The Squeeze

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Connor

From the editor

It’s officially SUN ‘n FUN week. Amelia and I will be at opening day tomorrow to capture all the content we can. Keep an eye on our Instagram to see what we’re up to.

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